David Cronenberg talks about Robert Pattinson, Cosmopolis and Maps to the Stars with ‘The Daily Beast’

You and Robert Pattinson have developed an interesting creative partnership. You’re a bit of an odd couple.

We are. Well, first of all, I think he’s a really good actor, and I think he was an underrated actor because of the stiffness and silliness of Twilight and those characters in it. But seeing other work that he had done and seeing that he was a serious actor and looking for challenges, and wasn’t trying to “manage his image” as a star, was attractive to me. And, of course, being such a big celebrity is helpful because it will help your film get financed, but the charisma that made him work so well as Edward Cullen is something you want in a movie like Cosmopolis where he’s in every scene in the movie. You need someone who’s infinitely watchable. But once you’re on the set, he’s just a sweetheart. Totally professional, really accessible, and funny. And a terrific actor.

So I take it you’re not a fan of the Twilight movies.

Well, no, of course not. Look, the series is a huge hit, of course, but it’s young adult fiction and I’m not a young adult. If people are mesmerized by it you can’t argue with it. Not a lot of movies and series have that kind of following. I don’t fault it for that.